June 11, 2013

The season begins

After an all-day meeting on campus today, I stopped on my way home at our CSA farm for the first pick-up of the season. Today's boxes held piles of greens (swiss chard, kale, bok choy), some peppers and cucumbers, a bunch of just-pulled beets, and two boxes of fresh strawberries. I piled everything into my trunk — except for the strawberries, which I put on the front seat of the car, where I could keep an eye on them.

I have no control when it comes to sweets, and I couldn't resist sampling the fruit as I drove. Local strawberries taste so different than shipped-across-the-country ones that we really ought to have a different name for them. Other CSA members were talking about making strawberry shortcake or strawberry pie or other culinary delights, but in this household, it's unlikely the fruit will last long enough for anything that fancy. In fact, it's only because we live so near the farm that the strawberries even made it home.

8 comments:

Yes. With the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program, we pay a flat fee upfront, and then every Tuesday, we get two boxes of produce. How much and what we get depends a bit on the weather, and it's always fun to see what the week brings.

We don't even buy strawberries at the grocery store, ever . . . they grow them in the field across the road, and we buy them at their stand ($12/flat!) Fresh daiquiri season begins in April, gets a little flat in late September, but renews again for a late season in October. They are so sweet and juicy. It's one of the best things about living in the Central Valley! Almost makes up for the heat LOL

Some years I put a vegetable garden in, and some years I don't. A lot depends on how much travelling I'm doing in May. I admit that I garden less now that we belong to a CSA -- and now that my kids are older, which frees me to travel more.

Gorgeous! Almost did a csa this year but the change in employment status changed that. I still have my garden and my strawberries are starting to come in but I fear I have cold weather crop envy....it has been so wet!

I used to buy fresh berries and carefully protect them from my kids' fingers while I decided what delicious thing I was going to make with them. Then half the time they would end up dry in the fridge or rotting on the counter because I didn't get around to it. Such a waste! I hate to think of all the enjoyment I deprived my kids of. Now, unless we have immediate plans, such as for a company dessert, we just rinse them and eat them! I've even served them that way for a company dessert.